Way Back Into Love (Essie) novel Chapter 142

"Alice and her little sister used to have a happy family, but you had to ruin that. You tore apart their families, wrecked their lives, and separated them from each other! You're so full of mercy and morality right now. Tell me, when you decided to insinuate yourself into someone else's marriage and drive the former wife and her children away, did you ever think of how sad the children would be if they couldn't see their father or mother? Did you think of how the pain of separating a mother from her child is worse than actually killing her? How many years have it been since the last time Alice saw her mother and sister? And how many years has it been since the last time Alice's sister saw her and her father? Who made it all happen? It's you! You are a disgusting homewrecker!"

She stared hard at Elizabeth's rapidly reddening face, paused for a while to catch her breath, and continued, "I don't know if you're addicted to being a mistress, but now you want to consign your daughter to the same fate. I'm sorry, but I'm not a doormat sort of a wife who would allow others to destroy her marriage and family."

If possible, Zac would have given his wife 999 thumbs up. He really wanted to stand up and applaud, so proud he was of his wife.

Seeing how Essie's words hit a sore spot and how her daughter-in-law was sorely declawed, Mrs. Vicki had to save face by saying, "Zac and Valery have known each other since they were children. If you hadn't come between them, they would have been already married. You, my dear, are the homewrecker in this scenario."

With a slight smile on her lips, Essie said, "Mrs. Vicki, my husband has always treated Valery like a sister. He was never in love with her. Also, you seem to have forgotten... your beloved granddaughter sought to entrap my husband into marriage by getting pregnant with his baby. I don't think I need to explain that to you in detail. Moreover, everyone is free until they marry. There's no 'first-come, first-served' basis, and everyone is free to choose whom they want to spend the rest of their life with, and everyone is free to pursue love. Marriage is different, as it is protected by law and morals. Husband and wife belong to each other, and no one is allowed to steal!"

Her eyes fell on the Buddhist prayer beads hanging from Mrs. Vicki's neck. "Madame, you seem to believe in Buddhism. There are a lot of news about you on the Internet. Do you know that it considered a grave sin in Buddhism to force two people into marriage? You have done it once before, and now you plan to do it again. Once the Buddha find out what you did and what you intend to do, he will be angry and bar you from entering Nirvana."

Mrs. Vicki's face turned deathly pale, and her hands started shaking with fury. Seeing this, Mary hastily said, "Essie, Mrs. Vicki is your elder. Don't be rude."

"Yes." Essie took a step back and turned to Vicki. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Vicki. I was too excited just now and might have caused offense. I apologize."

Still trembling, Mrs. Vicki took a sip of tea to calm herself down, and then spoke in a heavy voice, "That woman was unable to bear a son, so I had to make her leave. If we did not have a boy in the next generation, then how could I face the ancestors of the family when I die?"

Essie narrowed her eyes in concentration. Finally, they had started to get to the crux of the matter. She said, "Mrs. Vicki, you're right. Having a daughter is indeed useless. A daughter only drains money, and then she has to marry sooner or later." Then, her tone suddenly changed. "What if Valery is also carrying a daughter?"

"That's impossible. We have the results of the B-ultrasound examination. It's a son," Elizabeth replied quickly.

Essie interjected, "At present, B-ultrasound imaging offers only 70% accuracy, which means that there's a 30% chance that Valery is carrying a baby girl. We can only be sure once the baby is born. Don't you think it's too early to talk about taking responsibility at this point? After all, you want to expedite Zac's and Valery's marriage, but what if Valery gives birth to a girl? Who will be responsible for return and compensation?" Essie took another deep breath. "Oh, and another problem... I believe that the Xu family are generally honorable, but that isn't always the case. What if the child that she's carrying is not my husband's?" Essie stopped on purpose to savor the aftermath of her explosive delivery in the sudden silence of the living room.

"How dare you! Don't impugn Valery's honor!" Finally, Elizabeth couldn't sit still any longer. She jumped up from the chair and exclaimed, "Our Valery has never had any boyfriend! She was pure and innocent, and Zac was the only man she had ever slept with. Of course, the child is Zac's."

"An online research study showed that among all of children who underwent paternity tests as requested by their parents, 30% were not related to their fathers. Don't you think it would be best to have a medical certificate and a DNA test result to prove it?" A slight smile graced Essie's lips.

It was time for the head of the family to declare his decision. "What Essie said is reasonable. We can discuss it after Valery gives birth to the baby. Please rest assured that when that time comes, our family will give an appropriate answer and will not treat Valery and her baby shabbily."

Elizabeth and Mrs. Vicki were furious, but they couldn't find a satisfying outlet for the pent-up anger. The last thing they expected was for their careful preparations to be rendered pointless by a mere slip of a girl.

They stalked out, still stewing, and the house settled down to its former peace.

Albert was very satisfied with his daughter-in-law's performance. Her arguments were reasonable and refined. What's more, she adopted a tactic which gave Elizabeth no more reason to force Valery and Zac to marry.

After all, Zac was his son, so there was no way that he could have a poor eye for women.

'Albert has evidently accepted Essie. It will be even more difficult for Valery to become a member of the family, unless she is willing to become a mistress,' Mary thought to herself.

Back in her room, Essie picked up a bottle of iced black tea and gulped it down.

Awesome!

After repressing 15 years' worth of anger, she was finally able to vent it out today.

Thinking back to the scenario earlier, she was hard-pressed not to laugh at that embarrassing scene caused by Elizabeth and the Xu matriarch.

She would keep a video of their shooting as a souvenir. One day, she might show it to her mother and sister.

Zac gave her two thumbs up and said, "Darling, you were awesome and oh, so masterful!"

She turned her head and sighed softly. "A woman can only be brave with a strong backbone and a strong man supporting her." If Baron weren't so indecisive and filial, then her mother wouldn't have been so miserable.

Zac hugged her from behind and nestled his chin on her shoulder. "No matter what happens, I will always be on your side." His voice was firm and sincere.

Her thick eyelashes fluttered playfully. "Of course you have to side with me. Otherwise, you can just marry Valery."

"We still have a long way to go before this matter gets resolved. Apart from that, we still have a lot of storms to weather in the future... If you want to cut peach blossoms from the tree, I will take the axe for you. You want to touch the sky? I'll build you a rocket. Just say the word." He gazed at her quietly, indulgence and affection shining in his eyes.